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My Big Fat Greek Wedding |
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Home: You are here: DVD : My Big Fat Greek Wedding |
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My Big Fat Greek Wedding  Rating: Rating:  - One of those films that rarely comes alongI fell quickly in love with this movie the first time I ever saw it. A small-budget independent movie that earned all of its rage. And for a film with such a simple storyline? Amazing. But I agree with it all, for this is one of those charmers that comes along once in a blue moon. It is a familiar story indeed, nothing original there. But, like so many other great films, it is the way it is done that earns the praise. This is the sweet story of an ugly duckling who finally grows into herself and finds Prince Charming... within the first fifteen minutes of the film, leaving the rest of the story to deal with the problems that come of mixing together two very different cultures. In the end, all is well, of course. But it's the ride that is fun, revealing lots of laughs and untapped talent as well as true sweetness and praise of family. Rating:  - PLEASE READ THIS, WHETHER YOU THINK YOU ARE PRO THIS MOVIE OR CONI represent The Council of Greek Americans, a group of Greek professionals from North America. Many of our members were born and raised in Greece. We decided that here is a good place to start to spread our unique message, not only about this movie, but about the Greeks in general. Our message is the following: This movie is actually totally false in its portrayal of the Greeks, and actually Greeks have been greatly misrepresented in many works (movies, TV shows, books, etc.) for about 50 years now. Thus the Greeks have a major problem right now. So why doesn't the general public know about this? Put very simply, there has just been no big effort to tell them about it. We believe firmly that the public is not morally bad; there are just certain issues, such as this one, that they JUST DON'T KNOW ABOUT. The misrepresentation started about 50 years ago, with works like the movies Never on Sunday (1960) and Zorba the Greek (1964). But at least they were not as bad as the recent works, like this movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002), and the movies Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001), Windtalkers (2002), Date Movie (2006), 300 (2007), the "Wogsploitation" stuff in Australia, etc. These works are TOTALLY off in their portrayal; Greeks are not anything like that. That's so funny - what most of these movies portray is ITALIAN actually. Actually - that's not fully true about the Italians either; more like extreme Italian stereotypes. But the point is that it sure isn't Greek! The truth is that Greeks are mainstream European, in all their traits. If you don't believe me, I challenge you - LOOK IT UP. Learn the facts and the history. For example, in the USA, the Greeks first came around 1870, and came in the greatest numbers between 1880-1925; and they had many great achievements, including they had a Vice-President of the country - Spiro Agnew - in the 1960's! That's so funny, the Greek Wedding and the other recent movies portray them as so different from mainstream American, and the truth is the opposite; not only they are not so different from mainstream American, they ARE mainstream American. But for these movies to suddenly come out around the year 2000, after all of the long history, and portray Greeks in this totally new way, and for the general public - both Greeks and non Greeks - to semi allow it, is just incredible. And not just to allow it, but to even let it have some success and influence! To learn the truth about the Greeks, watch the movies THE TRUCE (1997, John Turturro) and ELENI (1985, John Malkovich). Both these movies have flaws; in The Truce in one part they have the Greek speak Polish, and in certain parts he has a little bit of a Slavic tint, though not very much, and in another part he sounds prejudiced, saying "only Europeans value liberty"; and in Eleni, in one part they say "were you really born in Greece?", etc.; but minus these few flaws, these ARE accurate representations of the Greeks. Also, get these books: The Greek Americans by Dimitris Monos, to find out the truth about the Greek immigrant experience, and Whiteness of a Different Color by Matthew Frye Jacobson, to learn about the history of the interactions of the different racial and ethnic groups in the English-speaking world. Go find out the truth for yourself, and then spread the word to other people about the truth and what I've said here; recommend that they watch these movies and read these books; and then hopefully, in the future, we can start to reverse this crazy situation. Especially if you're Greek - the Greeks in the English-speaking world need to WAKE UP, and get the right idea about their ethnic identity, and then rebel against this movement that is out to attack them; as part of that, we real Greeks need to get together about the situation. Related to that, we welcome comments on this review; feel free to email us. Rating: - Transformation and Inspiration with LaughsMy Big Fat Greek Wedding is so much more than a romantic comedy... it is a laugh-out-loud story of a woman changing everything about herself--from ugly duckling to swan... BUT unlike the ugly duckling, genetics aren't doing the work for her. She chooses and goes after a new life, something millions of us can relate to, at least in our desire to change. First she changes her mindset, then her appearance... and then her confidence grows to the point where she's genuinely an attractive person to be around. There are movies where the hero is always great (Rob Roy), there are movies where the hero is shaped and built by others (Matrix, Ice Age), and then there are a few, like this one, Legally Blonde, and The Pursuit of Happyness where the hero takes charge and becomes someone with greater fulfillment and a bigger life: someone who can inspire the rest of us. But of the transformational movies I mention here, this one is the most realistically accessible for those of us with limited resources and limited ambition. So, I recommend it as comedy, but more than that, I recommend it to every woman who needs a little inspiration to transform herself, whether in appearance, education, ambition, love, or confidence... Rating:  - A Big Fat Overrated Piece of FluffI just don't understand it. Why was this, a film about a mousy 30-something Greek woman getting a Pygmalion makeover and finding the man of her dreams, then going through the cacophony of planning a wedding with her colossal nuclear family, such a critical and box-office masterstroke? Why was a script written by the film's star, lacking in plot and containing banal dialogue, hailed as one of the better comedies of 2002? Why does everyone think that this movie is so great? I'll tell you why - HYPE. Movies like "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" have lived off this wondrous distortion of facts since the beginning of time and the reason for their continued success is that moviegoers never bother to question the gushing quotes of such renowned publications as Newsweek, People and the Los Angeles/New York Times. Simply put, to describe "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" as "hilarious", "brilliant" or otherwise "spectacular" is RUBBISH. This movie is schmaltzy, cringe-inducing and uninspired. 1990's "Father of the Bride" and "Muriel's Wedding" are a riot compared to this. Here's the mundane storyline: Toula Portokalos (Vardalos) is a woman on the precipice of middle-age whose parents consistently give her grief about being an old maid - all they've wanted and planned for her since she was a child was to get married as soon as she came of age. What makes things worse for her is that her older sister Athena has been married for nearly a decade, has three children and is pregnant with her fourth. Toula is exhausted by the henpecking of her female relatives to find a husband and by her authoritative, sexist father Gus (Constantine) - he is against all things that elevate women above men, particularly regarding employment and higher education. Problems arise when Toula finally meets Mr. Right, a college professor named Ian Miller (Corbett) whose background radically differs from hers. All spouses within the Portokalos family are of Greek lineage and Ian's opposing ancestry causes dissension with Toula's parents, particularly Gus. So Ian, being the nice guy that he is, decides to get baptized in a Greek Orthodox church so he can obtain a mandated marriage to Toula and make peace with her folks. The movie ends with the extravagant ceremony and reception, complete with an extremely generous wedding gift from Gus to the newlyweds that aims to wrench the heartstrings of its viewers. There - I've told you the whole story, minus a few details. I'll also tell you that the script, lauded as "hilarious", is far from it. It isn't smart humor, it isn't slapstick, it isn't wry - it's totally uninspired and will leave many people scratching their noggins in utmost bewilderment. Where is the incredible mirth that the critics suggested? Those liars - I should've rented "There's Something About Mary" or "Dumb and Dumber" and gotten my money's worth. Families with a Greek lineage may enjoy the many inside quips, but being German-Irish myself, the jokes were lost on me. Both Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson backed this project by serving as producers, giving the unknown Vardalos a chance to take her one-woman stage show to the mainstream. I'm beginning to think the Hanks were the ONLY reason this film was pushed in the limelight. Bottom line: "Cutesy" and "heartwarming" would be the fairest ways to describe "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". If you want to be rolling in the aisles, rent "Bruce Almighty" - that's hilarity at it's finest, with a little "heartwarming" on the side. |
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